Favourite series: Garrison Gage Mysteries by Scott William Carter

Arriving at a book is a journey, the author’s journey, and then, the readers’ journey. Some steps are short and instantaneous, others are so very convoluted one wonders about the thinking process and its miracle. I discover many authors via book bloggers or through books read. (I find music this way too.) Rarely do I discover a book via word-of-mouth because my taste in books differ greatly from my friends and family. I discovered the Garrison Gage Mystery series through a book blogger whose name, unfortunately, escapes me. I keep reminding myself to take note of the source of my discoveries, but there are so many, I’m discouraged by the time leakage. I must become more disciplined because book bloggers are so generous with their information that the least I can do is give them credit for leading the way.

The first book in Scott William Carter’s Garrison Gage Mystery series, The Gray and Guilty Sea, started off with the author using the pseudonym of Jack Nolte, and the series was collectively called the Oregon Coast Mystery. He had a re-think about his pseudonym and the collective title of the series after his first book gave him the pleasant surprise of gaining popularity, and because of the fast and radical changes happening within the publishing industry. He decided to re-publish his Garrison Gage books under his “real” name, Scott William Carter and he also re-named the collective title of the series, to the more appropriate title of the “Garrison Gage Mysteries”. This pleased me so much that I re-purchased the book so I could have the correct book cover and the more up-to-date edition. Scott explains his reason for these changes, in an interesting blog post, on his website.

When I started reading The Gray and Guilty Sea recently, I realised that I’d read this book a few months ago. I must have skimmed it, and not given it the focus it deserved. I usually have five books on the go, so if I overwhelm myself with choice, I just “clear the decks”. When I clear the decks, many a good book gets shelved and sometimes forgotten. Anyway, I picked it up again recently, I couldn’t recall “who done it”, so I read it again, and I’m very glad I did. It’s really good.

I could summarise the book for you here, but I think, particularly with crime novels, a summary always rips the heart and soul out of a good story. If you summarise what it’s about, it ends up sounding like a million other crime novels. I read lots of them. Mysteries, not thrillers. My favourite series, and there are many, could all be made to sound the same, but they’re not. I enjoy hours and hours of reading. Reading crime novels gives me great pleasure because the mystery drives my fascination. So no, I’ll not summarise the Garrison Gage Mysteries for you, except to say the stories are set on the Oregon Coast of the USA. The writing is good, the characters are interesting and their experiences are well drawn. The books are plot driven at a speed where you have time to take in the scenery and the weather, there’s time to get to know the characters and the consequences of their actions. There is a degree of violence and sex but it’s not too graphic nor over indulged. The core is the mystery of what, why and how and that’s what I like. (For more information go to Amazon.com where you’ll find a blurb for the book and reviews that may be helpful: The Gray and Guilty Sea: A Garrison Gage Mystery )

I look forward to the next two in the series. There are three books so far, as at May 2015, being: A Desperate Place for Dying and The lovely Wicked Rain. You can buy the books at Amazon.com, see the links below. I believe there is also a prequel. Enjoy!

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This blog was written by Diane Challenor 2015

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The copyright, of all the blogs and images at Artuccino, belongs toDiane and John ChallenorIf you would like to use our blogs in your publication please contact us.

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Australian Colonial History is one of the many interests we have here at Artuccino. Along with our book blogging we host a comprehensive historical resource dedicated to the history of Allan Cunningham Botanist Explorer 1791-1839, we call it The Allan Cunningham Project

When seeking to understand the colonial past of Australia, Allan Cunningham’s story is one to experience. As you travel through it you will discover that he was a person who knew many of the characters who populated the Australian colony in its early days. As you get to know him you will also meet them. He participated in many of the events that shaped his world, most importantly for us, he saw the pristine Australian wilderness in its natural state and wrote about it, leaving a treasure trove of information for those that followed and cared to know what it looked like and what grew there.